Saturday, January 31, 2009
A (safe) bicycle built for two
Posted by Alison Fensterstock on Sat, Jan 31, 2009 at 2:43 AM
New Orleans was saddened and I would think, somewhat embarrassed, when 25-year-old Kirsten Brydum - a visitor and community activist from San Francisco who was in town for the first time - was murdered in late September. Brydum was shot in the early hours of a Saturday morning while on route by bicycle from the Howlin' Wolf to the house where she was staying in the Ninth Ward.
Now, New Orleans cyclists (we're not talking weekend Audubon Park exercisers here; these are the folks who, for political, aesthetic, environmental or economic reasons use two wheels as their main mode of transport) are a strong, tight-knit community. In response to the tragedy, they've hit upon a possible solution named in her honor: Brydum Tandem Project NOLA. The program is a community-based effort, the sort of thing Brydum herself would have supported, through which cyclists in New Orleans can request a two-person bike escort 24 hours a day, in most parts of the city, to ride home with - or even a car that can toss a bike in the trunk.
Email btpnola@gmail.com or call 985-628-1330 for more information, or join the group here on Facebook.
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Comments (6)
Showing 1-6 of 6
This is such a great idea. I mean what else can people do? These are the only kinds of idea that actually work to make changes. All the politicians in the world can't do as much as a few brave citizens. Other types of groups need to do likewise. I don't know if they will be able because the bike riders are tight like you said for other reasons. Like the taking your life in your hands against auto drivers in NOLA. If you believe in praying then pray for them.
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Fantastic idea. Still, I was nervous this fall riding a bike in New Orleans, but I'm telling you, the spaced out/hostile/drunk/nasty car drivers in Nola were no match for the spaced out/hostile/drunk/nasty car drivers I encounter daily in "bike capital - bike friendly USA" Portland, Oregon.
What did you expect to happen? She was white, riding and LIVING in a all Black ghetto, did she think that she would be safe? She should have talked to some White locals first before she decided to move the the 9th ward. White people are not welcome there. Most New Orleans' Blacks are HIGHLY RACIST. Most of the people there are not friendly to White people. This is what happens when you think you can live in a Black neighborhood as a White person peacefully. That was a mistake and now you all see that there is a reason the Whites live in Jefferson Parish or the ritzy Garden District. Hope some other White people who are thinking about going to live in the Black area use this as an example. Go live with the Whites or Hispanics where it is safe.
robert, you are horrible. yes, you must be safe when living and visiting in new orleans. there are bad areas interspersed with good areas. but come on! not all of the black people of new orleans are racist and not all of the 9th is a "black ghetto". anyone being murdered is sad. its a human life and it shouldn't matter where you ride your bike or choose to stay when you visit. the fact is that the crime and murders in nola are horrible. we live in one of the most advanced countries on the planet yet nola is like living in a 3rd world country with plumbing. its people like you that will make the world continue to be what it is and its people like Kristen, an activist and someone who did not fear life, that will bring about changes to make our city and this world a better place.
Rebby, it's people like you that give me a headache. No matter how much crime blacks commit, and keep in mind, they commit the vast majority, you still feel the need to hug and protect them. "Don't talk about them!" Are you even white, Rebby? If so, why don't you move your happy little black-loving ass to the 9th ward. It's not people like Robert that "keep the world what it is." It's people like you who turn a blind eye to the bigger picture, and keep waving it off as a mere daily misfortune. And don't give me that "crime knows no color" because when it comes down to seeing it with your own eyes and statistics, there is plenty of room to beg to differ. Blacks are a problem. I'm glad there are more whites coming to the city.
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